Afterwards, she said: “I went into the tent as the smallest baker at 4ft 11’’ but I walked out feeling a giant."

Talking for the first time about her stunning victory, the odds-on favourite said she was looking forward to carrying on her baking “adventure” as lucrative book and TV deals are set to pour in.

But the Leeds mum insisted: “Family life will carry on as normal.”

She added: “Being a mum to three small children under 10 is pretty time consuming but I wanted to have my own adventure, which with a very supportive husband and a belief in my own ability, I can now carry on having my adventure. I am really looking forward to see what will happen’.

Nadiya, who is of Bangladeshi heritage, admitted prior to the final she was “a bit nervous that perhaps people would look at me, a Muslim in a headscarf, and wonder if I could bake.”

She was up against trainee anaesthetist Tamal Ray, 28, and travel photographer, father-of-two Ian Cumming, 42.

But last night millions watched her cook up a storm with her breathtaking take on a lemon drizzle cake for her showstopper “My Big Fat British Wedding Cake”.

Her raspberry mille-feuille won the technical challenge, while her cardamom and almond buns and nutmeg and sour cherry fingers were also praised.

Nadiya's final creation was an incredible British wedding cake - because she'd missed out on one of her own

Nadiya celebrate with her family and friends afterwards

During her time in the tent, Nadiya has earned a cult following – with viewers loving her array of funny facial expressions.

But she said after scooping the trophy: “I really hope that I have not become known more for my facial expressions or my eyebrows than my baking. I had no idea that this would become a talking point on social media. It’s all a bit of fun and not to be taken seriously, and I think it reflected what was going on in the tent. After all it’s just my face isn’t it?”

She said that in contrast to other rounds, she was much more confident going into the final.

“Bizarrely I found the final was one of the least scariest and I really enjoyed the experience the most out of all the filming days. I felt at that stage that I could do really well or really badly, I had nothing to lose, so I went into the tent and gave it everything I could.”

She said how she was left physically shattered ahead of the two-day final, spending every waking second fine-tuning her bakes.

“I practiced so much at home before the final, right through the night and even in the morning before I was going to catch my train I squeezed in another practice.

“I was absolutely exhausted before the last two days of filming, because I had done so much practice at home, but I felt I had given myself the best chance to fight for my place. I was pretty tired but high on the adrenaline of what I had achieved so far.”

Viewers last night saw Nadiya explain that she made a wedding cake for her showstopper as she never had one when she married her husband Abdal in Bangladesh. Lemon drizzle was also his favourite.

“At the very end of the filming I took the cake out to my family’s table and we all had a slice. So my husband and I did get our wedding cake after all.”

Talking about the moment the winner was announced, she says: “All I remember is not wanting to look at anyone, so I looked down at my shoes, my heart was racing in my chest and I could hear it thudding in my head. I remember seeing that my shoes were covered in flour, and when I heard my name, I covered my face with my hands as I didn’t want anyone to watch me cry.

“Mary and Paul hugged me and Mary told me I deserved to win, and that made me cry again. When you get praise from Mary and Paul it’s a wonderful feeling as you hang onto their every word. They are very forgiving, lovely and honest with their comments, so when you get a positive comment you know that they mean it.”

When she got back home, her family threw a massive party to celebrate.

And she described how she had to hide away her winning trophy as she had to keep her victory a secret until the series had finished.

“I wrapped it in many layers of brown paper, put it in a suitcase and hid it under the bed incase anybody saw it. Now it can come out and take pride of place in our living room.”

(Image: BBC)

Nadiya concentrating in the kitchen

The judges were unanimous that Nadiya was the deserved winner.

Mary Berry said: “I am really proud of Nadiya, not so confident to start with, but over the weeks she has grown in confidence. She came into the tent for the Final and was nervous but she had the look that said she can do it. The finished result had to wow us and Nadiya’s Showstopper was stunning. Sheer perfection and I have enjoyed every minute.’

Paul Hollywood added: “All three Bakers pushed the boat out for the final, but it’s all about keeping calm and being consistent throughout. Nadiya has brought something special to the Bake Off. Her ideas, flair, her emotions and her passion were all in her bakes, she just nailed the whole final. That was the best tasting final we have ever had.”